Mildeed blakey



(No Model.)

M. BLAKEY.

THREAD PROTECTOR FOR WROUGHT IRON PIPE. No. 311,171. Patented Jan. 27,1885.

111 EESEZ i 1 1VE 1131:. 11 1 1 1 d0, 417W, via/M47 am x M 7 M W NvPETERS. Phm-Lmw n mr. Washington. D. l:v

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MILDRED BLAKEY, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

THREAD-PROTECTOR FOR WROUGHT-IRON PIPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,171, dated January27, 1885.

Application filed June 7, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MILDRED BLAKEY, of Allegheny city, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invent-ed a new and usefulImprovement in Thread-Protectors for Wrought-Iron Pipe; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a ful1,clear,and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of thisspecification, in which Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of a bar orstrip from which my improved protector is made. Fig. 2 is a sect-ion onthe line w m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of one form of myimproved device. Figs. 4. and 5 are views of modified forms.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

Wrought-iron pipes and tubes are made of comparatively soft material,and have thin sides. The threads which are cut on the ends for thepurpose of coupling them together are very liable to injury in handlingand transportation. Various means have been adopted to protect them-suchas plugging the ends of the pipesections with wooden plugs having a heador knob of larger diameter than the pipe, so that when the pipe is laiddown or piled it will be supported upon the larger wooden knob,and thesides be prevented from coming in contact with hard objects. The plugs,however, are liable to be dislodged and lost, and do not, therefore, nocomplish the perfect protection of thethreads. Other devices have beenused, but they are all open to objection, some failing in efficiency andothers being too expensive or troublesome to apply.

My invention consists in rolling a strip, a, of iron or steel of therequired width, with a series of grooves or threads, at, on one side, asshown in Fig. 1. This strip is cut into suitable lengths, and then bentaround in the form of an annulus, as shown in Fig. 3, with the threadedside inward. The ends I) of the protector b, thus formed, are notfastened to gether, and the annulus is of slightly less diameter thanthat of the threaded portion of the pipe 0, upon which it is designed tobe screwed, so that when screwed upon the pipe it will clasp it by itsspring action sufficiently to prevent accidental displacement.

In Fig. 4 I show the protector b as having a dovetailed joint composedof a recess, b,and 55 tongue 12, so that when it is bent the ends may besecured together. The annulus thus formed is of the proper diameter toscrew on the end of the pipe. In Fig. 5 I show the endsb rivetedtogether. In this case a rectangular offset is made in one end, so as toforma seat for receiving the other end of the blank. The grooves orthreads amay run parallel to the sides of the strip, or they may beangling therewith, as may be desired.

My improved protector can be made very cheaply by rolling the blanks a,as described, in suitable rolls, to communicate the threads a thereto.As the strip does not require to be very thick, it can be rolled out togreat length, and needs only cutting into suitable shorter lengths tofit it for being bent into shape for use.

When placed on the pipe '0, a protector of this kind guards the threadsperfectly against injury. It is not liable to displacement, and

can be used over again a number of times, if

removed with ordinary care, when the pipes are needed for use.

\Vhen the ends of the protectors are free, as in Fig. 3, the threads maybe made parallel with the sides, and when it is put on the pipe it canbe sprung slightly angling, so as to register with the spiral threads ofthe pipe. When, however, the ends are secured, as in Fig. 4 or 5, thethreads should run angling, or the ends be secured so as to cause theends of the threads not to register with each other, but with the endsof the adjacent threads. In such case the protector can be easilyscrewed on the pipe, notwithstanding its threads are parallel with thesides and its ends are secured This construction is illustrated intogether. Fig. 4, where the tongue I) and recess 1) are out of line witheach other, so that when con nected a leading thread will be thrown outon each side.

It is a simple, cheap, and efficient device.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

A threadprotector consisting of a thin curved metallic plate or annulushaving a series of parallel independent threads formed on its innerface, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 3d day of June, A.D. 1884..

MILDRED BLAKEY.

WVitnesses:

W. B. Gonwrn, THOMAS B. KERR.

